More History

After posting the Blue Book, Mike Beckett who sails the beautiful Nobby derived yawl Bonita checked his 1947 Lloyds and notes that the Watermota engine is listed as having been installed in 1938.

We went checking and discovered that we have never written up the November 1937 Yachting Monthly article which has some good photographs. Alison has now rectified this and you can read it here.

But the 1938 RCC article only mentions that the single cylinder engine had been made to work.

So it looks like the Watermota was installed after she returned to Liverpool, and possibly even at Gallows Point after she was laid up for the winter.

So it might never have been used until after the war.

We decided against the brass plaque and have had the old registration number carved on the new beam. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

Paperback publishing

I've been laid up after a foot operation for the last few weeks, and spent the time reviewing the collected blog books. Amazon have started to provide a print on demand service, so I played around with creating print, not just electronic copies of a couple of the books. They are 9"x 6" format, and practically every page has a full colour photograph on it. They also have maps of our route. The cost is high for their length, but this is down to the colour throughout.

Day Sailing Round Ireland: Fair Winds and Calm Seas . £15.99 ($22 in America)  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1977055427

Gales Every Weekend:  £8.99 ($12). https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1976907969

These links take you to the UK sales page, but the books can be purchased direct from any of the Amazon sites.

I don't know if any one will take advantage of the paperback availability, but if there are sales then I will probably publish the other volumes in this format too.

Robinetta's Blue Book

I got around to scanning in Robinetta's Blue Book. I haven't done the back page yet which has details of the sales but by stitching three chunks together it is at least readable.

The part 1 registry has lapsed of course. I believe it is possible to get it back, but a survey is required.

When Mark Rolt's team replaced the forward cabin beam, the original hull number carved into the old one was a casualty. We are looking into replacing it with a brass plaque.

Reading the page I discovered we have more information about her first two engines than I had realised.

The registration details indicate a 1932 single 3 3/4" cylinder Amanco with a 4" stroke.

The 1948 survey says she had a 1934 twin 2 3/4" cylinder 2 stroke Watermota with a 3" stroke.

I don't know when the Watermota replaced the Amanco.